In our health conscious world, many people share the desire to maintain or improve their posture and to avoid or retard typically progressive loss of bone mineral density and/or strength. Such loss, when progressing to a certain point, results in the development of osteoporosis. In this regard, the integrity of the spinal column and its supporting muscles and tendons is of prime importance. A means to encourage good posture and to maintain or strengthen the bone and supportive tissues of the spine would be advantageous.
An age-old method to encourage the development of good posture is to place a book atop the head and try to walk about and carry on normal activities. The sensation of weight on top of the head and the desire to keep it balanced does, for many people, promote keeping the back straighter, the shoulders back, the chest forward and overall better, healthier posture. The present invention uses this principal to encourage good posture in a more sustained, more convenient, less conspicuous, and less hazardous manner than the book technique.
Osteoporosis, meaning ‘porous bone’, is a bone loss disease that may develop with aging and results in loss of height and a badly curved spine. Known factors that promote osteoporosis include sedentary life style, a diet low in calcium and vitamin D, inadequate weight bearing exercise, female gender and menopause. In addition to its effects on the spine, osteoporosis is the also the major cause of hip and wrist fractures. Osteoporotic bones lose calcium and protein, and the effected bones becomes less dense, weaker, and more vulnerable to breaking with even minor trauma. When a spinal vertebra breaks, it collapses resulting in pain, disability, loss of height and increased spinal curvature. Osteoporosis has been defined as “reduction in the quantity of bone or atrophy of skeletal tissue; an age-related disorder characterized by decreased bone mass and increased susceptibility to fractures,” while osteopenia, a less severe condition, has been defined as “decreased calcification or density of bone” and “reduced bone mass due to inadequate osteoid synthesis.” (Stedman's Electronic Medical Dictionary, v. 5.0)
Bone is a living tissue that is constantly being formed, removed, and remodeled in response to the stress it experiences. For instance, a fractured bone is repaired, reshaped, and strengthened in response to the forces put on it by the surrounding muscles and supporting tissues. Also, when bone experiences greater than usual stress, new bone is formed in parallel with the direction, or lines of stress to strengthen the bone. For example, bones in the right arm of a right-handed tennis player become denser and stronger than those on the left.
According to one current theory, the physiological process that permits the strain on a bone to adjust structure (thus, in response to exercise loading, to stimulate bone growth), involves four steps: mechanocoupling; biochemical coupling; transmission of the biochemical signal; and the effector response. Where an exercise regime results in a net increase in bone mass, bone-forming cells identified as osteoblasts, deposit more bone mass than is being removed by bone-removing cells identified as osteoclasts. The details of these steps, and the factors of movement and exercise that are correlated with net bone growth, are more fully described in chapters 2 and 3 of Physical Activity and Bone Health, Khan et al., Human Kinetics, publ., 2001, pages 11–34 (“Khan paper”), which are particularly incorporated by reference for such explanation.
The opposite effect of beneficial exercise is also true. Inactivity reduces the stresses on bones, and results in loss of calcium, protein and bone strength; in other words, osteopenia and, more extremely, osteoporosis. The reduction in bone mass density that characterizes osteoporosis generally results when bone loss outpaces bone formation. The balance between these two counter-balancing activities is affected by hormones, calcium intake, vitamin D and its metabolites, weight, smoking, alcohol intake, exercise, and other factors. As to the importance of load on the bones, it has been reported that astronauts lose bone mass at a rate of 1 to 2 percent a month in the zero gravity, reduced bone stress environment of space.
Although it is recognized that weight-bearing exercise can improve the status of an individual's bone mass, many persons who attempt such improvement by exercise do not attain a time-efficient result. To ameliorate such inefficiency, the apparatuses of the present invention conveniently and unobtrusively add to the weight of the head and therefore increase the weight force, or stress, along the axis of the spinal column. This added force on the entire length of the spine, which over time with regular use, stimulates formation of strengthening new bone within the spinal vertebrae. With proper use, it also helps maintain and strengthen the muscles and tissues that support the spine thereby helping to promote good, healthy posture. Overall, with proper and consistent use, these apparatuses provide means to tip the bone growth/bone loss balance toward bone growth, thereby providing a chance of slowing or stopping progressive bone mass loss.
As to the types of beneficial exercise, numerous forms of exercise are well known in the art. Some, such as some forms of yoga, boast a long history of development. Also, the history of ancient Greece and Rome provides evidence of the long recognition of the value of exercise in general health. In recent years, as life span has extended in certain countries, such as so-called “Western civilizations,” various degenerative diseases related to aging have emerged as common concerns. Among these diseases are osteoporosis and other states that adversely affect the condition of the bones of an aging person. Commonly accepted knowledge of the relationships between exercise and the general maintenance of bone mass, osteoporosis, and other bone degenerative conditions defined by current medicine, includes the following:
1. For females, load-bearing exercise during pre-adolescent and adolescent years (i.e., 9–18 years of age) is strongly related to bone mass density and bone strength. It has been stated that bone mass density and bone strength of a young adult correlates to improved status of bones during post-menopausal senior years, when bone mass typically declines. Soccer, basketball and tennis, for example, are considered “good load-bearing sports for girls.” (from lay press' “Parade's guide to Better Fitness,” Michael O'Shea, pp. 14–15, Oct. 12, 2003);
2. Load-bearing exercise by older subjects, including post-menopausal women, has been shown to reduce bone loss from the spine (See “Review: exercise reduces bone loss from the spine of postmenopausal women,” 2003:50:6, www.evidencebasednursing.com, authors D. Bonaiuti et al.; “Osteoporosis and exercise,” Postgrad. Med Journal, 2003:79:320–323, authors J. A. Todd and R. J. Robinson, for instance, references 23 and 24);
3. In some cases, load-bearing exercise by post-menopausal women, including those diagnosed with osteoporosis, has been shown to increase bone mass and muscle strength (See for instance, “Osteoporosis and exercise,” Postgrad. Med Journal, 2003:79:320–323, authors J. A. Todd and R. J. Robinson)
4. A strong positive relationship exists between exercise intensity and osteogenic stimulation (See summary of papers in “The Erlangen Fitness Osteoporosis Prevention Study: A Controlled Exercise Trial in Early Postmenopausal Women with Low Bone Density—First-Year Results,” Arch Phys Med Rehabil, 2003:84:673–682, Wolfgang Kemmler et al. (“Erlangen paper”)
5. Exercises with an unusual strain distribution, i.e., aerobics or games (i.e., sports), provide more osteogenic stimulus than more constrained exercises such as walking or running (See summary of papers in Erlangen paper, and Khan paper, page 29); and
6. Exercise programs that combine ground and joint reaction forces are superior to exercise programs that only supply one type of force (See summary of papers in Erlangen paper).
Thus, the benefits of exercise are widely recognized, particularly benefits dealing with bone strength, and with bone strength for senior years, more particularly for postmenopausal women. Such recognition has lead to a number of preventative and treatment regimes designed to address the deteriorating condition of the bones of an aging person.
However, despite the long recognition of the value of exercise in general, and despite the recent surge in health and fitness programs and regimes, there still exists a need to provide more convenient and more effective means to improve the bone condition of the spine. The present invention provides such means in its various embodiments, which may be used in a range of activities. Without being bound to a particular theory, the various embodiments and methods of the present invention advantageously improve the effectiveness of routine activities (i.e., non-dedicated exercise of everyday walking about on errands, etc.), and of dedicated forms of exercise (running, jogging, etc.), as to improvement in bone condition of the spine. Also while not being bound to a particular theory, the prior art did not appreciate the benefit of direct-load on the spine (as taught in the present invention), particularly in low to moderate weight loads for extended exercise periods. Instead the prior art taught more limited exercises with higher-weight direct loads, and exercises that provided lateral, non-direct loading upon the spine. It is believed that the latter, lateral, non-direct loading does not benefit the weight-bearing maintenance and development of the spine, nor the induction of bone growth, in a manner that is as beneficial to an individual as the apparatuses, systems and methods of the present invention.
Statements and conclusions from scientific review articles are supportive of some of the above statements. In “Osteoporosis and exercise,” Postgrad. Med Journal, 2003:79:320–323, authors J. A. Todd and R. J. Robinson reviewed a number of research studies on the effect of exercise on bone mineral density (“BMD”). These authors summarize that running and other “weightbearing sports” (i.e., competitive weightlifting, volleyball, basketball, squash, speed skating, but not swimming) are associated with increased BMD (page 321). As to walking, the authors stated, “Regular brisk walking can maintain BMD in previously sedentary postmenopausal women,” and also stated that in one study of the effects of walking on BMD, “ . . . BMD at the spine and calcaneum decreased in the control group but small increases were seen in the walking group with the differences reaching statistical significance at the calcaneum.” (page 321) In their section entitled “Optimum Type and Frequency of Exercise,” these authors state that “Intervention studies also suggest that high impact activities are better at increasing BMD than low impact activities. Low impact activities only seem to help prevent further loss. Other reviewers have concurred with this view.” (Page 322, citations omitted.) Finally, in Table 1 also on page 322, entitled “Different forms of exercise and their impact on BMD,” where the forms of exercise are ordered based on “Impact on BMD,” walking is listed second, just after swimming, with the indication “Protects against further loss” as to its impact on BMD. Thus, walking in its conventional form is considered a low impact form of exercise that is not as effective as “higher impact” exercises such as vigorous aerobic exercise, weight training, running and squash.
However, through use of the present invention, it is possible to elevate walking to a more effective form of exercise for improvement of the bone condition of the spine. Further, in that various embodiments of the present invention are in the form of unobtrusive, conventional headwear, wearing these during normal daily activities provides opportunities for persons to benefit from the additional weight load to the spine during such non-dedicated-exercise activities.
More specifically as to walking, one article, analyzing the effect of walking exercise in one cohort of postmenopausal women, calculated that “ . . . walking for 4 [hours per week] or more was associated with a 41% lower risk of hip fracture. A faster pace was also associated with lower risk, perhaps because of a greater impact on the bone.” “Walking and Leisure-Time Activity and Risk of Hip Fracture in Postmenopausal Women, Diane Feshanich, W. Willet and G. Colditz, JAMA 2002, 288:18, 2300–2306, 2305.
Despite these and numerous other articles substantiating the benefit of walking and other exercise, many persons do not sustain sufficient exercise over time to achieve and/or maintain a desired level of bone strength and density. Many persons do not want to take time to exercise, or only take time to exercise inconsistently.
Also, as to the present invention, the art has failed to appreciate that routine walking exercise regimes can be “upgraded,” per the teachings of the present invention, so as to offer and provide substantial benefits specific to the bone condition of the spine. Also, wearing headwear of the present invention in forms of exercise other than walking, for instance volleyball, running, and tennis, whether by youth, adults or the elderly, provides the potential for obtaining more effective exercise with regard to growth and maintenance of the bone mass of the spine. Advantageously, the benefit of limited exercise can be increased by wearing the headwear of the present invention during such limited exercise.
Finally, although BMD is the common parameter measured to assess the effectiveness of an exercise regime or therapy (i.e., a medication), and as a predictor of the likelihood of a problem related to decreased bone mineral content with aging or other condition, at least one scientific article provides evidence that BMD is “merely a surrogate measure for bone strength” and may not accurately assess bone strength. “Designing Exercise Regimens to Increase Bone Strength,” C. H. Turner and A. G. Robling, Exerc. Sport Sci. Rev. 2003, 31:1, 45–50. Thus, an exercise regime that improves the actual strength of the bone may be underestimated by standard BMD analyses.
All patents, patent applications, patent publications, and all other publications cited herein are incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application was specifically and individually set forth in its entirety.